pottery? porcelain? Glass? Glass? This museum in Zibo is a great place to learn
When you come to Zibo, besides eating barbecue, you must visit the Ceramics and Glass Museum!
Compared with the Qi Culture Museum in Linzi, this place is located in the city and has convenient transportation. It's very convenient to bring children to play. Moreover, there are several exhibition halls on each of the four floors. If you want to see them all carefully, a whole day will not be enough.
I spent a total of 7 hours in there, and visited almost all the museums very carefully. I have indeed gained a lot of knowledge about porcelain and glass, and it has broadened my horizons.
[Exhibition Hall System]
First floor: Ancient Qi Hall, Jixia Hall;
Second floor: Qifeng Hall, Qiyun Hall, Guoyao Hall, Ancient Porcelain Hall, Demonstration Hall;
Third floor: Jingyao Hall, Xinhui Hall, Guocui Hall, Wuse Hall, Ceramics Hall, High-tech Hall;
Fourth floor: International Hall, Modern Glass Hall, Architecture and Garden Hall, Haidai Hall, Donation Hall, Huicui Hall;
[Exhibition Suggestions]
1. It is recommended to start the visit from the first floor "Ancient Qi Hall". Pottery dating from 10,000 years ago to the Han Dynasty is on display here. The representative work of Longshan culture, Eggshell Black, is worth noting.
2. Pottery evolved into porcelain, which can be seen in the "Ancient Porcelain Hall" on the second floor. Here you can find representative works of porcelain from various periods, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
3. Then visit the "Five Colors Hall" to see colored glaze pieces from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Most importantly, you can learn about the differences and connections between ceramic colored glaze and glass. As the glass capital of China (no other city), I personally feel that Boshan is the focus of the exhibition.
4. In the ceramics hall on the third floor, there is an exhibition called “Soul of Pottery” consisting of more than 3,000 ceramic sculptures. It is said that it was completed by the museum staff together. It is shocking!
5. As for other exhibitions, it depends on personal preference. I personally recommend the National Kiln Hall, which fully displays the level of modern porcelain in Zibo, and the special exhibitions that showcase the personal works of artists.
【Treasures of the Museum】
Generally speaking, there are two treasures of the Ceramics and Glass Museum:
One is the "Green Glaze Lotus Vase" from the Northern Dynasty (in the Ancient Porcelain Hall on the second floor), which is a representative work of early northern celadon;
The other is the colored glass beads from the Warring States Period. The large light blue pure glass bead with a diameter of 4.21 cm is also the largest in the country (in the Ancient Porcelain Hall on the third floor).
[Personal feelings]
Frankly speaking, compared with the ceramic museum in Jingdezhen, the collection of porcelain in Zibo is not outstanding, because Jingdezhen still has a dominant position among the porcelain kilns in the Ming and Qing dynasties, while the Zibo kiln is mainly a branch of the northern folk kiln system in the Song and Yuan dynasties.
But the core here should actually be colored glaze (glass). Compared with the civilization of the Middle East (such as ancient Persia), China's colored glaze production technology is indeed relatively backward, especially the German-Roman glass in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the German-Persian glass in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which were the favorites of dignitaries and more expensive than jade.
But Zibo is the representative of Chinese colored glaze technology and has been the representative place of Chinese colored glaze skills in almost every dynasty. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, Zibo became the most important source of colored glaze for the Qing Palace.
Many unique glass pieces in China were unearthed here, so this should be the focus of the visit.
【Souvenirs】
What impressed me most about the museum was its affordable prices! There are a wide variety of ceramics, glass handicrafts and souvenirs, with high, medium and low prices. It is hard not to buy one after seeing the exhibition. It is recommended to bring a small glass ornament.